Dogue de Bordeaux
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| Other names | Bordeaux Mastiff, French Mastiff, Bordeauxdog | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Origin | France | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Domestic dog (Canis lupus familiaris) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Traits | |||
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| Weight | Male | 150 lb (68 kg)+ | |
| Female | 125 lb (57 kg)+ | ||
| Height | Male | 24–27 in (61–69 cm) | |
| Female | 23–26 in (58–66 cm) | ||
| Coat | Fine, short and soft to the touch | ||
| Color | All shades of fawn, from a dark red fawn to a light fawn. A rich coat color is considered desirable. Limited white patches are permissible on the chest and the extremities of the limbs | ||
| Litter size | Avg. 8 pups | ||
| Life span | Avg. 5-8 years | ||
| Classification / standards | |||
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| FCI | Group 2, Section 2.1 Molossian: Mastiff type #116 | standard | |
| AKC | Working | standard | |
| ANKC | Group 6 (Utility) | standard | |
| KC (UK) | Working | standard | |
| NZKC | Utility | standard | |
| UKC | Guardian Dog | standard | |
The Dogue de Bordeaux, Bordeaux Mastiff, French Mastiff or Bordeauxdog is a large French Mastiff breed—and one of the most ancient French dog breeds. A typical brachycephalic molossoid type breed, the Bordeaux is a very powerful dog, with a very muscular body. This brawny breed has been put to work in many different capacities, from pulling carts and hauling heavy objects, to guarding flocks and, historically, the castles of the European elite.
The Dogue de Bordeaux was known in France as early as the fourteenth century, particularly in southern France in the region around Bordeaux. Hence, the city lent its name to this large dog. A uniform breed type of the Bordeaux Dog did not exist before about 1920.
The French placed emphasis on keeping the old breeding line pure. Black masks were considered an indication of the crossing in of the English Mastiff. As an important indication of purity of the breed, attention was paid to the self colored (pink) nose, lighter eye color (dark amber), and red mask. They were originally bred with huge heads; a pioneer for the breed in Germany, Werner Preugschat once wrote:
What am I supposed to do with a dog that has a monstrous skull and is at most able to carry it from the food dish to its bed?
The Dogue de Bordeaux was at one time known to come in two varieties, Dogues and Doguins, the Dogue being considerably larger than the Doguin. The smaller Doguin has withered away to nothing more than a mention in breed history books, as it is no longer in existence.
The history of the breed is believed to predate the Bullmastiff and the Bulldog. It is said that the Dogue can be found in the background of the Bullmastiff, and others claim that the Dogue and Mastiff breeds were both being accomplished at the same time. Another theory is the Dogue de Bordeaux originates from the Tibetan Mastiff and it is also said that the Dogue is related to the Greco Roman molossoids used for war.
As there was a breed similar to the Dogue de Bordeaux in Rome at the time of Julius Caesar's reign, possibly a cousin of the Neapolitan Mastiff. Others suggest that the Dogue de Bordeaux is a descendent of a breed which existed in ancient France, the Dogues de Bordeaux of Aquitaine. Whichever theory is true, it is obvious that the Dogue de Bordeaux shares the same common links as all modern molossers.
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Wikipedia